How much can you bench press?

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Right now, I can only dream of benching my bodyweight. :lol: I dropped about 15 pounds out of nowhere though. I was pushing 300 a couple months ago and now I'm 275-8ish. Congrats, guys.
 
Indeed it is :) My gym buddy and myself have both reached our summer target of benching our body weights for a fair few reps. In my 5th set I got 80Kg for 4reps which I'll hopefully see creap upto 6 not too far away. He's also reached his bodyweight by doing 100Kg for 6 reps.

Myself, 6ft, 74Kg (lean build)
My mate, 6ft 2, 98Kg (Built like a Union #8 :D)

That's awesome! Congrats to both of you.... It's a good feeling isn't it?

:cheers:
 
Should I disown myself by posting my benching abilities?

...Sure, I am a scrawny 15 year old who weighs about 110-115 and the last time I benched it was 110 lbs. :D I don't care if you laugh. :) -kevin
 
Argh, bench press severly suffered in first month of uni! Creeping back up the weight again quite nicely, but a month of sweet F-A and booze does little good.
 
Should I disown myself by posting my benching abilities?

...Sure, I am a scrawny 15 year old who weighs about 110-115 and the last time I benched it was 110 lbs. :D I don't care if you laugh. :) -kevin

Nothing to laugh about if you're benching your own weight. Good stuff 👍.

Benched 100 kg's for the first time last week, only managed 3 reps, and the last one was almost certainly more my spotter than me. But still, I still weigh 77 kg now, and that was my goal for the end of the year, so I'm pretty stoked. Now to be work on reaching 8 reps.
 
So, hoping to hit the gym harder this term. And realised that my bench routine was getting abit sloppy. Ended up being a poorly done pyramid scheme so I've switched it for this term.

This term I'm going for the 5x5 plan. 5 sets of 5 reps with the same weight all the way through. Did 70Kg today and felt there was still more in the tank, so going upto 72.5Kg next week (my body weight) and hopefully when mixed with lots of other stuff I'll see a nice 2.5Kg increase every fortnight. We'll see.
 
Should I disown myself by posting my benching abilities?

...Sure, I am a scrawny 15 year old who weighs about 110-115 and the last time I benched it was 110 lbs. :D I don't care if you laugh. :) -kevin

Nahh man all good. I'm 15 I weight 145 and bench 160. It took FOREVERRRRRR

Keep working, you'll get there quicker then you think
 
Well, I suppose at some point I should document my gains...

I joined a gym in December, after not having been in one since 1994. Needless to say, I'm not in great shape. Drank like a fish for years. Smoked Cigars, and ate whatever I damn well pleased. Worked in an office for most of that time.

In December I was 36 years old, 235 lbs, and could barely bench 95 lbs.

Here it is March, and I benched 185lbs. Have dropped 35 lbs, and can hit the treadmill for a full 45 minutes without needing to call the paramedics (3.5mph, on a 10 degree incline). My goal by November 29th is to bench 315lbs and weigh 185lbs.

Currently my max squat is 225lbs. Haven't tried a deadlift, other than 140lb sets of 15.

In July of last year, I quit drinking (might have a beer or two in a month). Quit Cigars more than a year ago. In December I radically changed my diet to meet a 1200 to 1500 calorie intake.

The only supplements I take, are 1000mg of Vitamin C, 2 Flinstones Chewables, and a Protein Shake. I shop at Walmart for the Protein mix: Super Advance Whey Protein.

I'm working with a Semi-pro body builder for a trainer, and I've seen great gains in a short time. If I hadn't had the trainer, I'd have not done anything close to what I've already managed.

In the past week, though, I've started to investigate other supplements. Years ago, I used to take Yohimbe Bark Extract to improve my workout. An unfortunate incident with a female coworker put me off that. The only one that I can see at this time that I need to research more, is Creatine. Can anyone give me a spot to get more info on it? I'm going to review with my trainer what he thinks of it, but want to be a bit more informed before I ask him.

I'll post up my routine later this weekend in another thread. I keep it well documented in Excel Spreadsheets for my week routine, and update it each week with new Goals.
 
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Creatine is a naturally occuring substance in the body but can be consumed in red meat and others.

It works by giving your muscle more energy, thus allowing you to train harder. I've heard recomendations that it's best taken after a work out with something high in sugar, as the insulin rush pushes more of the creatine into the muscle.

The only negative known of reasonable creatine intake is water retention. Part of holding more energy in the muscle means holding more water aswell. So you have to boost your water intake abit and be expected to gain water weight plus lose some definition. I know a few friends who complained they lost their lean look when they started on creatine. Others liked the look of the pump.

Now, the big discussion point on creatine is how much you take. Gnerally held opinion is that creatine should be cycled, but how that is done varies. Most agree that a 6-8 weeks 'on' period should be followed by 1-2 weeks 'off'. Some say you should take "high" doses of 5 grams for a week then maintain at 2 grams for the rest of the cycle. Others think 2 grams constantly is fine, some say 5 grams constantly is fine and so on.

It's something I've looked into alot. I know a few friends who take it in a protein-creatine blend you can buy. They found some improvement in their lifts but that can all be psycological. Personally when (probably ater summer, start of uni again) I start taking creatine, I'll buy it as a seperate supplement.


Sooooo. Main points to bring up. Have your lift increases stagnated, do you need creatine just yet? And how would he recomend cycling it and how to take it.

[EDIT] Sorry for the essay, forgot to say that you're making some great improvements there, keep it up!
 
The only one that I can see at this time that I need to research more, is Creatine. Can anyone give me a spot to get more info on it? I'm going to review with my trainer what he thinks of it, but want to be a bit more informed before I ask him.

Now, the big discussion point on creatine is how much you take. Gnerally held opinion is that creatine should be cycled, but how that is done varies. Most agree that a 6-8 weeks 'on' period should be followed by 1-2 weeks 'off'. Some say you should take "high" doses of 5 grams for a week then maintain at 2 grams for the rest of the cycle. Others think 2 grams constantly is fine, some say 5 grams constantly is fine and so on.

It's something I've looked into alot. I know a few friends who take it in a protein-creatine blend you can buy.


Sooooo. Main points to bring up. Have your lift increases stagnated, do you need creatine just yet? And how would he recomend cycling it and how to take it.

I don't know what the quantity of it is in your Whey Protein shake, but looking at the ingredients of it, it already has Creatine in it. It has been linked to some kidney issues, so i'd be careful of taking too much of it, especially if you are unaware of it's inclusion in your Protein drink.
 
That's interesting, I've never known a company to "sneak" creatine into something advertsied as a whey protein supplement.

Check the label, it should state quite clearly how much creatine is in a serving.

[EDIT] Did some digging and found a photo of the label. Interestingly it doesn't say how much creatine is in it. Worryingly the component the creatine is in is approx 9grams per scoop and creatine is listed as the main ingredient in that component.
 
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The reason for using this particular supplement was at the direction of my trainer. I didn't read close enough to notice that it already had the Creatine in it.

I am guessing you found the same image I did. http://www.bodyfortress.com/images/supplementfacts/044320.pdf

I'll have to look closer at a new supplement that doesn't have the creatine in it. I'm unsure if I should add that to my diet if I don't need it. I don't eat a large amount of red meat. A steak maybe once a month. Roast beef sandwich on occasion.

Thanks guys for hunting that info down for me. More that I have to discuss with my trainer tonight.

Any thoughts on a different supplement that I should try instead of that Protein mix?
 
Creatine is the most used and probably one of the safest suppliments on the market. There are different kinds as well. Some will cause more or less water retension than others. There is really no need to ever "cycle" off of creatine other than to just give your body a chance to "get back to normal" before you ramp it up again. You can get low cost creatine or designer creatine. Some will argue the benefits, one over the other. You can decide for yourself how your body responds the best. Further reading here.

Another product that is increasing in popularity to give you a good pump and volume in your muscles is N0 products. Further reading here.

I would research both Creatine and NO products and consider stacking with a good whey protein (which is sounds like you are using any ways).

Great gains and progress, btw! Keep it up. We need more bouncers in the staff. :D

[edited]
Oh and...here's a couple hours worth of reading on suppliments.
 
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Uh oh, Pako linked to bodybuilding.com. Once you start reading articles, you don't stop!

:D That's so true. That site has a wealth of knowledge on it. Granted, some of it is hyped to sell a particular product, but when specific brands are not mentioned, I tend to put more weight into those articles. :)

Lots of reading for sure.
 
I'm slowly picking exercises out of the "exercises you've never tried" list. Admitadly not a BB.com article, but well linked to.
 
Do you have a link? ;)

Anyhow, just got done with my back workout, I know....it's not benching, but for shoulder shrugs, I ended my set with 10 reps at 675lbs. It was ALOT of pressure, you could have cooked an egg on my face. Not sure how much heavier I could have gotten to today, maybe 765lbs fresh, but 7 plates a side was more than enough for a good pull.

I have a lot of work to do this afternoon, but all I want to do now is sleep... :)
 
Do you have a link? ;)

Anyhow, just got done with my back workout, I know....it's not benching, but for shoulder shrugs, I ended my set with 10 reps at 675lbs. It was ALOT of pressure, you could have cooked an egg on my face. Not sure how much heavier I could have gotten to today, maybe 765lbs fresh, but 7 plates a side was more than enough for a good pull.

I have a lot of work to do this afternoon, but all I want to do now is sleep... :)
What, no small cars were available? I'm amazed! Hopefully in a few years, I'll be in that range. However, I think the most I've ever managed for shrugs was 405. And I was 19 at the time.
 
It's been a work in progress getting there. I remember a year and a half ago, 405 crushed me on shrugs. The gains are there to be made, but it's harder the older we get. :)
 
I put up 315lb (17 y.o., 185lbs, 6'0'') in highschool on my last day of the senior year. I was quite thrilled to hit my goal of 3 plates on my last day of highschool, as well as setting the record bench press for that year and best bench over my bodyweight...which I beat my buddy by just 2lbs or so :sly:

I believe when I was 19 I got up to 390lbs at 235lb bodyweight and then gave up on working out after having some not so good things happen to me in my personal life :indiff: I imagine I can still put up 275lbs though, as I'm naturally quite strong and have a lot of explosive power thanks to having a fast twitch muscle type. I don't really care about the weight i can put up anymore though, now I'm more into Mixed Martial Arts (muay thai specifically) and improving my driving/mental skills and quickness at this point in time 👍
 
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I put up 315lb (17 y.o., 185lbs, 6'0'') in highschool on my last day of the senior year. I was quite thrilled to hit my goal of 3 plates on my last day of highschool, as well as setting the record bench press for that year and best bench over my bodyweight...which I beat my buddy by just 2lbs or so :sly:

I believe when I was 19 I got up to 390lbs at 235lb bodyweight and then gave up on working out after having some not so good things happen to me in my personal life :indiff: I imagine I can still put up 275lbs though, as I'm naturally quite strong and have a lot of explosive power thanks to having a fast twitch muscle type. I don't really care about the weight i can put up anymore though, now I'm more into Mixed Martial Arts (muay thai specifically) and improving my driving/mental skills and quickness at this point in time 👍

I'll be more careful when I see you out on track.



"If I hit TimeAttack, .......his driver will kill my driver after the race. And maybe key my car!"
 
LOL


Flat benching today. Will report my results in a few hours. I'll have to see how the shoulder does.
 
Flat bench in lbs.went as follows:

135 x 15
185 x 15
225 x 12
275 x 10
315 x 8
365 x 6
 
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